1 Sam 15:16-23 / Mk 2:18-22
Saul was the king that the Israelites got when they decided they wanted to be like all their neighbors. As a leader, Saul had real limits, not the least of which were his fearfulness and his resulting lack of vision and purpose. The prophet Samuel confronted him: “Though little in your own esteem, are you not the leader of the tribes of Israel?” Just barely! Although the Lord had promised to guide and protect him as he did the Lord’s work, Saul dithered instead, and let himself be distracted by the spoils of battle. And finally, he tried to bribe his way back into the Lord’s favor by offering lavish sacrifices. It didn’t work.
It never does. God doesn’t need our trinkets or our flowery words. God already has it all, and He can’t be bribed. The one thing God wants from us is integrity, namely, that we walk in the truth wherever that leads us. Saul could have walked that walk and had a happy life as a good king and a friend of the Lord, but he didn’t do it, because he could never bring himself to trust completely in the Lord who alone could give him the power to do it.
So how far are you willing to trust the Lord? Are you really letting him be Lord for you? What better offer are you waiting for?
Why not stop the dithering and give Him your “yes” now!